Description:
NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SEGREGATION: ”GIVE A DOG A BAD NAME AND HANG HIM?”This article analyses three basic assumptions behind the view that a com-mon school for all is better than a so-called segregated school system. Theassumptions are (1) that segregation makes it difficult for future citizens tocommunicate and cooperate across social and cultural boundaries; (2) thatit inhibits the development of autonomy and critical self-reflection; and (3)that children with low-valued cultural capital will be stuck in low-achievingschools. The tenacity of these assumptions is discussed from empirical andphilosophical points of view. Finally, attention is drawn to the impossibilityof the present corporate state being neutral with regard to ”the good life”.In view of the lack of knowledge about what school system actually contrib-utes to autonomy and a communicative society, and of the impossibility ofan ethically neutral state, the fairest conclusion seems to be that parentsshould have the possibility of freely choosing schools for their children.